Scotland recap

Where to begin...we had an amazing journey through the green hills, rocky mountains, single track roads filled with sheep, majestic castles, and distilleries of Scotland. All of our travel and lodging was prefect and no mishaps, well serious mishaps at least. The food was spectacular and we had our fair share of fish and chips, and at one cafe the biggest single piece of fish I've ever seen, I had tea one afternoon and Sam was on a quest to find the best hot chocolate in Scotland. Buttered scones and jam were our favorite snacks along with a biscuit or short here and there from a coffee shop. At each meal we would share each of the dishes to be able to experience a greater variety of local cuisine. Our favorite combined meals was at a local pub in Edinburgh, consisting of fish and chips and what can only be described as a meat-box. It was similar to a chicken-pot-pie filling only with beef, served in a pastry box.

We visited five castles and our now self proclaimed castleologists (Edinburgh, Cowdar - best garden, Broadie - best tour & 6,500+ books in the library, Dunvegan - best overall grounds area, and Armadale), Catlon Hill, the Scottish Whiskey Experience, Tartan Weaving Mill, Loch Ness (no Nessie sittings), climbed to the top of Old Man Storr in Skye and several other places in Edinburgh and Skye.

Some highlights include:
We both found some really good deals at the local Salvation Army in Inverness. I now own a designer Scottish dress.

Our first night in Inverness we met some local boys, Chris and Russel at our 2nd bar of the evening and spent sometime talking and learning about the town and places to see. They were just barely 20 and 21. They pointed us to some late-night snacks as we were leaving and strolled back to our B&B laughing and eating fries along the river Ness.

The 2nd night in Inverness I briefly danced to a Scottish gig before we moved to another establishment. There were several door-man looking fellows outside and after milling around for a minute, because we thought they might be checking ID's, I asked, "is there something you need from me?" To which one man replied, "a kiss on the cheek." While inside there was a 50-something couple sitting in front of us celebrating their 30th anniversary and their flirtations were enduring. However, as the night progressed, they got a little vulgar, and he was sticking his hands down the back of her pants and grabbing at her chest. Needless to stay, we didn't stay there long.

Our first night in Skye we met other guys, James and Jason, who are traveling wind-mill engineers. While waiting in line with them at a 2nd bar, Jason struck up a conversation with a local man, Neil, and within 10 minutes we were all in our car out to his place, as no one wanted to wait in line in the rain. He was an interesting character with lots and lots of CD's and thoughts on politics. While backing out, Sam when over the embankment as deep as the tire, and the car was stuck! The boys got out and tried to figure out how to get the car back up, because continuing to back up was out of the question. In a wine and whiskey haze, I jumped in the drivers seat and floored it forward. The boys were in the back and realized what I was doing, and pushed. Needless to say, we got it home in one piece with minimal damage. When we returned I could not find the keys to the B&B and thought maybe it got left at Neil's. Thankfully our new found friends were gracious enough to offer a place to stay and I found the key stuck in my wallet in the morning.

Our last day in Skye we drove around to see the sights on while on a single-track road that was merging in to a dual carriage-way I went off the road just slightly on the left and no curb, we hit something and ended up with a flat tire. Neither one of us has really changed a flat, let alone on a hill. A Swedish couple came of our rescue and he changed the tire for us. The whole rest of the drive to Glasgow we couldn't go over 50mph puttsing along the whole way. After stopping at the closest thing to a truck-stop, driving in the night, it took us 1.5hrs to go 60 miles!!

We arrived in Glasgow around midnight on Monday and didn't need to be to the airport until about 7a. When we did not find any 24h diners, we drove to the back of a hotel parking lot and slept in the car for a few hours before returning to the airport.

Driving on such narrow roads there were some close calls with trucks passing, but we never drove on the wrong side. It took a while get used to looking for on-coming traffic in the opposite direction and the set-up of the sifter and seat-belt. We fell in love with all the sheep and cows long the roads, and had to stop several times for the sheep to cross.

I am very thankful for the time I had to spend with Sam as well. We had hours upon hours of conversations about our childhood, family, religion, boys, our futures, etc. It was priceless to have this time with such a wonderful friend.

Here I come...

Hike, bike, read, write, eat - repeat

The UP was an amazing time. It had been over 10 years since I was up to the cabin and there was a surreal feeling being back there and nothing had seemingly changed. Once I finally made it there, after passing the almost hidden driveway the first time down Ramsden Road, it all came back. The dark brown exterior of the cabin, with its large front porch facing the fire pit. There were several reminder of Aunt Vi and Uncle Ken, who own the cabin on little door hangers and yard posts. It brought back lots of fond memories of Aunt Vi. She had the softest hands of anyone I ever knew, amazing skin, and blazing red hair until the day she passed. She was a wonderful cook and baker and the kitchen had definitely had her touch.

I arrived just a tad before 4p after stopping at the IGA in town on my way. After bringing all of my stuff in and settling down I had the Pasty I purchased from IGA and got to work on making my chicken noodle soup. I spent most of the evening reading through the cabin journal, in which visitors leave notes and details about their trips. (A pre-Internet blog of sorts) It was great to read of vacations my family took, surprises from friends who came to visit. Honeymoons and anniversary trips, little get aways and first time visitors. It is such a great piece of our family history to have this journal and I happily contributed the adventures of my trip.

Over the course of the trip I finished the last few chapters of two books I was reading, read another cover to cover in one day (something I had never done before) and started a third. Organized my pictures on the new Macbook - love iphoto. I did some writing and typing of old journal entries I brought with me, but not nearly as much writing of 'new' stuff as I had hoped. I thought a bit about what my barrier is to actually writing most of the stories floating around in my head and came up with two. 1) Some things are still to close, in time that is and need more distance. However, this is a bit of a conundrum because with the passing of time, so does go the passing of my memory. I have started to writing the general ideas of the stories to came back to. 2) I do not have a theme, a central idea to keep coming back to. I think that knowing overall my story is about a 'single mom,' or 'a recovering addict,' makes it a little easier to have focus. None of the stories would really change, they are what they are, but their individual spin and the continuity of the whole would be easier. I am hoping to work on these two issues, well more the later, since I can't control time. I have found several writing groups in AA and hope to join one, even if just to have some accountability.I also spent sometime seeing a few of the local sites, including Kitchitikipi Springs. and the Pictured Rock National Lake Shore. Kitchitikipi is an amazing natural sulfur spring that is clear to the bottom, 45 feet below and is always 45 degrees. At Pictured Rocks, I saw several waterfalls and was a little disappointed that the trails between the sites, The Backcountry trail, was not bikeable. I should have looked in to that more. I was going to hike from Sand Point to Miners Castle, only 4.9 miles, but once I got on the trail and I came across a sign stating I had only gone just over a mile, I realized hiking was not going to be nearly as fast as walking 4.9 miles. I had a hunch once I was on the trail and realized how slow I had to go in portions that were wet, muddy, or just plain treacherous. Needless to say, once I got the map and my location straight, I realized I could just drive there - again, I was hoping for bike ride.

All in all, it was a great trip and I hope that in the future I don't have to drive 6 hours in to the woods to allow myself a few days to relax, although I'd do it again. After several days of self reflecting I am hoping to do some things different in this new chapter of my life. I have no regrets from before, but have, as one would hope, learned and want to grow from those experiences.

U.P. vacation #2

I said good-bye to Meredith this morning as she is completed her elective rotation and is on her way back to UofI. I made my first trip to Trader Joe in AA with her yesterday (as she had several 'orders' from Chambana to fill), and I must say just how amazed I was with the quality and price of the products; a place I defiantly will be frequenting since I do live there and all, which I had to remind myself several times during the shopping trip. We also seem to have found campus-bar-row and split a $5 pitcher of Miller Light after our roof top happy hour with $2.95 glasses of wine, cheese, and tapenade downtown.

Now after finishing the laundry, a few loose ends with grant stuff and grocery shopping, I am ready and just under 12 hours away from vacation #2 to the upper peninsula (UP) of Michigan to our family cabin about 30 minutes outside of Manistique, MI on Thunder Lake. I stopped to the library again and this time stocked up on a few books for my time in the cabin and will have plenty of driving time to finish my fourth and final book-on-CD. I have groceries and supplies for a rump roast complete with carrots and potatoes, chicken noodle soup, and yes some Hamburger Helper which I needed to finally make. I'll have to stop to IGA in town, about 30 minutes from the cabin, to pick up some milk, lunch meat, and fruit.

View Cabin in a larger map

I made a stop over to Aunt Linda's this evening to get directions, keys, pepper spray for the wild animals, and a bike rack for my car. It was quite an amusing time her trying to remember the name of the roads and the exact directions as to her it is just second nature. I did plug the address in to the GPS and it came out with directions, so I think we will be all set. I have several maps and directions to Picture Rock National Forest and Marquette, which are the two travel destinations on my trip.

There is also a paddle boat on the lack and several hiking/biking trails around Thunder Lake I plan to explore. I have lots of reading and writing that I want to accomplish. My cell phone connection will be spotty at best and Internet will probably only be available in Marquette. I will blog as I go and then post when I return, so look for the weeks adventures the 1st week of August.

I was told that my family is just in utter amusement that I am going to cabin by myself for a whole week, I think they even were taking bets of a family baby shower last weekend for how long I'll last up there - I'll let you know in about a week (or sooner if they are correct).

"Ma'am you are in New Jersey, everything is full-service"

2,217 miles, 7 beds, $30+ in tolls, 3 books on CD, 2 countries, 7 states, 13 days, one train and ferry ride and probably more pounds than I want to know later - I am home.

I had just a remarkable time over the last two weeks driving around visiting friends and family I have not seen in awhile, some in 3 years. I am so grateful for everyone's hospitality and all the wonderful adventures I had.

Here are some interesting highlights and things I learned on my trip:

1. My GPS does not believe in Canada
2. In full walk, I ran into the door on Diana and Min-Yang's patio trying to go inside after only two glasses of wine
3. Books on CD - where have they been all my life
4. Boston is an even crazier place to drive than Chicago, and maybe even NY
5. I just love seafood
6. Massachusetts is a very beautiful state and looks a lot like northern MI with all its trees
7. Napping in city parks is a wonderful way to spend a few hours
8. All gas stations in New Jersey are full-service
9. The Island is a party every night
10. A bridge on I95 did not show up on the GPS and it had my car driving across water

The pictures are up on Facebook and I have some pretty interesting videos I'll try and get together before leaving on Saturday. Between now and then, there are bills to pay, laundry to wash, library books to check-out, and a few other odds and ends to take care of. I am hoping the weather will be nice next week while I am in the UP as I am planning several hikes, a kayaking trip and some other out-door activities.

American History

I went through the whole, well pretty much, the whole Freedom Trail today. It did not take as long as expected mainly because Boston is not nearly as big as I thought. It was a pretty warm day, but thankfully with the layers of sunscreen applied before embarking on my history-laden day, I am not as red as a lobsta'

I started out visiting the Bunker Hill memorial and USS Constitution in Charlestown. It was a very beautiful, quite area and the lay of the homes was what I would expect an old New England town to look like. (I have forgotten my camera cord to download pictures, so they will come next week.) Then it was across the Charles River to Copp's Hill Burial Ground. Most of the grave stones were so only you could barely read the first few lines. Then it was on to the Old North Church, where I was reminded of the fact that Paul Revere himself did not hang the lantern's, as he was already on his way to the country side. The church had old box-style pews, which I had never seen before and still hold two services a week.

After this I was in search of lunch and was in a just the area of find it; The North End. I strolled down Hanover Street a bit of the red brick that denoted the Freedom Trail. I must say this was a most brilliant idea - having a big red line running on the sidewalk pointing in the correct direction of the tour. I walked past several shops and then found this great hole-in-the-wall seafood joint and walked right in - The Daily Catch. The whole place probably wasn't much bigger than my college dorm room. The 'kitchen' was in full view and the 'dishroom' was covered by a half wall curtain. There was one waiter and probably seating for 16, maybe 20 at most. I had a black pasta dish and calamari and vegetables - delicious (sound of kissing my fingers). Then as luck has it, I was across the street from Mike's Pastry, a must see sight according to Andy. I walked in, and took in all the smells and sights of this authentic Italian bakery and walked out eating a chocolate mousse canoli.

I strolled around the North End a bit more and walked over to Christopher Columbus Park and took a lil' nap under the tree in the shade. Then it was off to venture through Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market (where I found Vicki a birthday present). After passing the site of the Boston Massacre and the Old South Meeting House, it was on to Boston Commons for another lil' nap in the park. I made my way back to Faneuil Hall, took in some street performances, read a few pages of my book and then met Peggy and Klemen for dinner at Mother Anna's. Erik met up with us and we had an enjoyable seafood dinner - yummy crab cakes out on the patio.

Tomorrow I am taking the Duck Boat Tour around town and down the Charles River, then it is off to Vicki's and out to the Vineyard.

Bean Town

I'm in Bean Town...now off to explore!!

My police escort

I saw in the Long Island Newsday, as well as heard from several sources that there was a fire on the Throg's Neck Bridge the other day and that access was closed from several parkways to get out of Long Island. Of course this was the intended way to Massachusetts, so I needed to look for alternatives. Thankfully this same Newsday article offered such choices graciously pointing out several different detours one could take from different points on Long Island. I confirmed my plan with uncle Howie and wrote down the directions on the newspaper page and tore it out for the trip. Given the troubles with the GPS in Canada, I wanted to have some good ol' fashioned directions as well, because with some my express-ways and parkways on Long Island I wasn't sure what the GPS detour would be.

I was driving along the LIE, keeping up with traffic, and yes, doing a little weaving, but nothing that would have been noticeable had I not had out-of-state plates. I figured instead of continually glancing to the passenger seat at the newspaper clipping I would hold it on the steering wheel so I could make a (quicker) glance down to see the next street. I was doing this for just about 5 or so minutes when I heard a quick siren sound, like from a police car. I quick looked around and in the mirrors and did not see any official vehicles and thought nothing of it. Then it came again within a minute or so, again a quick glance, but not cars. Finally the Jeep Cherokee behind me turned on its police lights and was motioning for me to pull over. But where!! There are no shoulders on the LIE.

I pulled to the right lane and slowed down planning on going to the next exit, I did not want him to think I was trying to evade him (right Stuart). Then he pulls up, and yes there was a large curb, on to the grassy-shoulder-piece of land; I followed. He pulled to my passenger side and I rolled down my window.

"You are not seriously reading the newspaper and driving?" he questioned.
"No, I am following my directions for the detour on the Throgs Neck."
"That still closed from the fire?"
"Yes, that is what the Newsday article said yesterday, and I can't trust this thing for detours," I remarked while pointing to the GPS.
He radioed someone and was talking with several people about the best way to get there.
"Stay on the LIE to the Clearview, it's not closed from there."
I asked him about having to go on Grand Central Parkway, as the paper instructed.
"No. Just follow me, I'll get you there."

And that is how I got a police escort to the Throg's Neck Bridge.

Mets won

Spent most of the afternoon at the new Citi Stadium where I think most of the stimulus package has gone. It was a beautiful park and we had amazing seats, 5 rows back from the visitor dug-out. It was a tad bit warm outside and I got some sun, finally. We had an amazing lobster roll for lunch with some great seasoned fries and a toasted lager.

Tomorrow I am off to NEW YORK CITY!! I will spend the day in Midtown shopping and seeing whatever sights I come across, as well as lunch with my now-found-long-lost-cousin.

I am really embarrassing and starting to enjoy the spontaneity of this vacation. I have no specific plans for tomorrow and still haven't planned my exact trip home and surprisingly enough I am totally OK with that and am not worried. What, me without a plan? and not worried to boot! I know, I know, don't worry I didn't lose myself in Canada while without GPS, I am just really soaking up my current life-on-vacation.

East Coast Tour - Leg 1

Well it came as a surprise to me that my Garmin (GPS) did not work in Canada. As I was approaching the Detroit/Winsor boarder it kept telling me to turn on every side street to turn around and then when that was no longer an option, it was telling my to make a U-turn. Needless to say, I am glad I still have the trusty Atlas in my car. There are only two main express ways in Ontario that eventually configure in London, ON and go on to Niagara Falls. I did finally get on the 401 after about 15-20 minutes of following signs through side roads. Once pulling in to Niagara Falls (on the Canadian side) I stopped to eat at the first local place I found - Taps Brewery. I had a really delicious pulled pork sandwich with a homemade slaw on top served on a chewy rolls along with a vanilla stout. The place looked very new and my waitress, a recent college graduate, was very helpful and informative about The Falls. I walked the few miles to The Falls and took about an hour to explore around before I left on my way to the Rochester area.

I met up with Peggy and her boyfriend, Dave, outside of Rochester in Victor. She seems to be doing very well there and it was go great to see her and meet her wonderful boyfriend. Stopped for supplies, drinks and snacks, and took off to his parents place on Canandaigua Lake for an evening of boating and tubing. We spent the evening on the lake and then to a local establishment for dinner. We had to rise early this morning for Peggy to get to her boaters safety training and for me to get on the road. I arrived to aunt Mindy's in Long Island shortly before 3pm, about 45 minutes after anticipated and given the traffic on the bridges in to NY, I figured I made good time.

I am still working on the plans for the drive home. Vicki and company are staying on the vineyard until Tuesday evening, but at the latest I'll need to leave Tuesday AM and get on the road. Originally I had planned to drive all the way back to Ann Arbor, but given the extra time for the boat ride and how freakin' tired I was after the 6.5hrs today, I think I'll stop half way on Tuesday to arrive home Wednesday. I am going to look in to staying at/near a winery in up-state NY; I did not realize how many there were until I drove through today.

Finally, books on tape!! How have I missed this! I am about 3/4 of the way through my second book and I am loving it. Thank goodness for the library.

VACATION!!

I'm all packed and ready to (officially) start my 2 months of vacation!! The grants are submitted and bags are packed. I have several books-on-CD selections for the driving along with my trusty iPod.

I have been looking forward to and planning this vacation for quite sometime now that it is hard to believe it has finally come time to set-off. I am very excited to see some friends and family I haven't seen in a few years as well as see some recent former-Chambanan's in their new homes. I am looking forward to exploring Boston and the Freedom Trail, seeing a Mets game, roller-blading with Diana again, and finally making it back to Martha's Vineyard.

A quick itinerary:
7/10 I'll stop at Niagara Falls on my way to visit Peggy in Rochester
7/11-14 I'll be staying with the family on Long Island, going to a Mets game and in to the city
7/14-15 I'll be visiting with Diana and Min-Yang in Plymouth, MA
7/15-18 I'll be in Cambridge staying with Erik, dinner with extended family, meeting up with Peggy and Klemen, Freedom Trail Tour, Duck Boat Tour, and who knows what else
7/19-21 Out to Martha's Vineyard with Vicki and family for her 30th birthday

This will be the first time I have traveled this extensively on my own. I am actually really looking forward to this opportunity and will do my best to up-date as I go.

East Coast Tour

As promised here are the (tentative) details for the East Coast leg of my last-summer-vacation.

• July 10th: Drive out to Rochester, NY to see Peggy (II), an undergrad who worked in the lab
• July 11th: Drive to Long Island to see the family
• July 12th: Going to see the Mets play Cinncy
• July 13th: Head in to the City to see Marisa and maybe some other friends and just hang out in NYC
• July 14th: Drive to Plymouth, MA to see Diana and Min-Yang and hang out in Plymouth for a few days
• July 16th: Drive to Cambridge, MA and stay with Erik for a few days. Explore Cambridge a bit and hopefully I'll be able to meet up with family in Hopkinton for dinner.

• July 17th: Thanks to Andy's suggestions I will head to the northend and visit Mike's Pastry to get a famous cannoli, stop to the Union Oyster House - the oldest restaurant in America!! Then it is onto Fanueil Hall Market. During this time I will be making my way down the Freedom Trail to see all the historic sites. That evening is dinner with Peggy (I) and Klemen.
• July 18th: Duck Boat Tour and more general site seeing (any suggestions?)

• July 19th: Drive to New Bedford to meet up with Vicki and family then it is off to Martha's Vineyard for a few days to celebrate Vicki's birthday
• July 22nd: Drive home
  

Little of this and a little of that

Wrap-up of somethings from this week:

Literature
Forgot to mention I finished World War Z while on vacation in Breckenridge. I highly recommend it, although beware of the looks when you start talking about zombies. It was a really solid read and easily broken up in sections (a style I really like). I really enjoyed how Brooks weaved the story of the war into the personal interviews. My overall conclusion is that if there is ever a zombie or nuclear war, I am running as fast as I can straight in to the heart of it; I sure don't want to be around for the aftermath.

I also started and finished yesterday The Last Lecture. This has been on my reading list for quite awhile. It was a super quick read, even for me. It was enjoyed, which sounds kind of morbid, but once I stopped thinking that these were the words of a dead man, it was a lot like the Chicken Soup Books and Don't Sweat the Small Stuff. There were a few times this week while reading on the bus that I had to put the book down for fear of shedding a few tears. I think it was very well written, insightful, and thought provoking making me think of what I would want people to know and remember about me.

I picked up Under The Banner Of Heaven and When You Are Engulfed In Flames. The first was due to rave, I mean rave, recommendations from a new grad student, Christy I met out at Whiskey Wednesday, and the later is because I have greatly enjoyed everything else by David Sedaris. Not sure yet which I'll start with.


Computers
I, well actually Glenn, got the new MacBook up and running in full capacity with Parallels and XP. I must admit I was a just a little proud when I found the key code to install Office. The writing on the CD itself (a copy from a friend) wasn't correct, so Glenn wasn't able to install it. I messed around with things when I got home and found a Text doc on the CD that had the key. I'm sure Glenn could've found it, but he was probably tired of working on all my computer stuff - Thanks Glenn!!


I also finally got an external hard drive today. Since I'm transferring so much between computers and am going to be a professional here in a few weeks, figured it was about time.




Lab
Finished my last experiments ever in Greg's lab this week. The results are still under debate. I have to work out the stats for the lethality studies. I'll I've got to say is I am sure glad that is done and I won't be around to figure out what's going on; three weeks of septic and dying mice does not put one in a good mood.

I must admit I had a few tears when I was finishing the 2nd experiment on Thursday. I think between all the dead mice and the moving, I'm a tad bit over-emotional.

The 2nd experiment was from the "Scientific Progress" posts. So all in all, it looks like that took just about 3 months from start to finish.

I'm a little concerned about getting everything back to the Journal of Immunology before I leave. Greg is on vaca this week and so we'll only have one week when he's back to weave this new and interesting data in to the paper.
I reviewed my first publication this week for Brain Behavior and Immunity.

Last lab lunch at Timpone's was Friday :(


Moving
I am down a couch and a dining room table. It is really interesting to me how certain things on Craigslist go SO fast. Both of those were sold within 36 hours of posting, but I still have not had much luck with the desk and dresser.

I've packed all the boxes I've collected, so it is back to scavenging the hallways of ERML for boxes - it's looking pretty bare.

The boxes have made their way in to the kitchen.


Vicki leaves on Saturday :( but I'll see her in a few weeks when I head out east to DC, NY, and Boston for leg 2 of the big summer vacation.

Finally, I bought some hiking boots for the UP and Scotland. It was an expensive day: boots, hard drive, and books.

Pictures

Since I am not sure if and or how to put up a photo album on the blog, you can see the pics from the CO trip here or here if you are a on Facebook.

Up-date and count down

I think that this is one of the few trips that I have taken in which all the travels plans went 110% smoothly!! This was a great start to a fun-filled and very enjoyable conference and vacation. Thankfully the thick fog on Tuesday morning did not interfere with our flight out of BMI and our transfer at O'hare and rental car pick-up all went off with out a hitch. We were a tad bit disappointed driving out of Denver west to Breckenridge, because it took quite awhile to see any mountains.

The resort where we stayed for the conference was spectacular and we had a wonderful view. The hotel/condo was very comfortable and had plenty of room, including a full kitchen in which we stocked with snacks from the City Market. We took part of the amenities of the resort, including the pools and hot tubes.

The conference was enjoyable and it was good to connect with friends who I seemingly only see at these things. I took a little time off in the morning and took at walk around town and got a pedicure. We had a delicious dinner at the Blue River Bistro on Wednesday as a lab.

Wednesday was also our white water rafting experience on the Arkansas River. It was a BLAST!! Our guide, Alan was this 52 year-old hippie who had been rafting for almost 25 years. It was great to have all his stories and insights in to the different areas of the river. The rest of the week was great and the closing banquet was a ton of fun, dancing, and being crazy. My knees are still feeling it.







Now I am in the home stretch. My dad and brother will be here 3 weeks from today to pack me up and move. I sold a few more things on Craigslist today and have a few to go. It is a crazy week at the lab getting the last, and I mean last, experiments done, as well as getting the next draft of my post-doc grant to the new boss. I keep reminding myself only 3 weeks until I have a 2 month vacation.

Things left to do:

1. Set up utilities in the new apartment
2. Close my bank account
3. Pack, pack, pack
4. Finish planning the Scotland vacation and settle on the dates for visiting the East Coast
5. Clean-up and pack my desk at lab
6. Figure out my new MacBook
7. Numerous other odds and ends
   

Summer vacation: Part I

My summer vacation officially begins tomorrow, well for the most part. I am going to Breckenridge, CO for 5 days. Granted it is for a conference, but, that's neither here nor there. We are staying at an amazing resort, going white water rafting, having great food, and an even better time with friends.

We are staying at the Beaver Run Resort which includes outdoor and indoor pools, several bars, spa, eight hot tubs, exercise room, sauna and steam room, tennis courts, and arcade games.



On Wednesday we are going white water rafting on the Arkansas River. We are taking the Royal Gorge trip that will take about half a day.







I'll up-date if there are any great misadventures to report!!

Summer reading

This summer I will have ample time just to sit and read, whether it be in airports and during my summer travels, sitting in the woods at the cottage in the U.P., or in the next few weeks enjoying a very reduced lab schedule sitting at one of the fine establishment downtown.

My "to-read" list is kind of short, so I am looking for some suggestions. I enjoy a lot of styles of writing, in particular short stories, such as David Sedaris, or fiction-type biographies such as The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. Other books I have enjoyed are Eat, Love, Pray, works by Daniel Quinn, Malcolm Gladwell, and Wally Lamb. I like reading WWII stories and science fiction, but haven't ever been able to get in to mysteries or far-fetched fiction, such as Wicked. I am not sure the exact genre, but I enjoy scientific-based books like The Female Brain (Louann Brizendine) and Freakonomics.

I had started World War Z about a month ago, but did not have much time to devote to reading and have recently started it again. My short list includeds The Last Lecture and Hot, Flat, and Crowded, so as you can see I am in need of your suggestions.

Scotland up-date

We have found a B&B on the Isle of Skye. There were several that were already booked; and I thought I was planning ahead. We will be staying at the Braeside B&B, which is one of the oldest farm houses in Portree, Isle of Skye. It will take about almost 3 hours to drive from Inverness. Portree is the main city on the Isle and will be a great hub from which to start our adventures in hiking and whiskey. Made a venture over to AAA this afternoon and got my international drivers license - watch out world!


View Larger Map

Scotland!!

As part of my last summer vacation ever (as a student), which will not be "all in one day," Sam and I are going to Scotland for 10 days in August! As the time is getting closer, we are just about finished with the back-bone plans of the trip, and can't wait!

1. Plane tickets - check
2. General itinerary - check
3. Rental car - check
4. Lodging in 2 of the 3 cities - check

Here is our schedule and the places we are going
View Scotland Vacation in a larger map:
Saturday, 8/8 I'll drive out to Chicago and stay the night with Sam
Sunday, 8/9 Leave O'Hare at 9:35a
Monday, 8/10 Arrive in Glasgow about 8:50a. We will take the Citylink bus to Edinburgh
Monday, 8/10-13 We will stay in Edinburgh at St. Christopher's Hostel

Thursday, 8/13 We will pick up our rental car, an Opel Astra and drive to Inverness, in the highlands, which is just over three hours.
8/13-15 We will be staying at a great little family run bed and breakfast, Summer Lee B&B. Here we will have the pleasure of a full Scottish breakfast, which traditionally includes toast, beans, fried haggis, potato hash, eggs, back bacon, potato scones, fried mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, Lorne sausage, black pudding, oatcakes, kippers (salmon), and porridge. I am full well aware of haggis and black pudding and will, I promise, try it at least once.

Saturday 8/15 We will drive to the Isle of Skye, which will take us just over 2.5 hours. This is the last leg of the trip that we have still to plan. There are several great places to stay in Skye and we will most likely be traveling around to different parts of the island to see everything (or as much as we can). I still have to decide the best "central" location to stay if we will be doing some traveling within the isle, but it is looking like Portree is the most likely candidate. If anyone has suggestions, they would be greatly welcomed.

8/15-18 We will be staying in the Isle of Skye. We will be heading back to Glasgow (about a 4 hour trip) sometime late on the 17th or early AM (i.e. 2am) on the 18th. We need to be back to the airport around 6am to drop off the car and get checked in on time for our 10:15am flight. We figured that we might as well spend the last night either on Skye or at a pub in Glasgow - we've got a long flight to sleep it off.

Still to do:
Find a place to stay on the Isle of Skye
Figure out if there are any festivals during our visit, because I hear Scotland is famous for their summer festivals
Determine if there is anything we want to see that needs reservations/tickets, like tours etc.